IN THE BEGINNING, Copart was a single salvage yard in Vallejo, California founded by Willis J. Johnson in 1982.
TODAY, Copart is a global leader in online vehicle auctions and operates more than 190 locations in 11 countries with over 125,000 vehicles up for auction on a day-to-day basis. In 2003 the company opened its first Canadian location in Toronto, Ontario, and continued to expand from there. Steve Macaluso joined Copart Canada in 2013 as the managing director where he led the company’s new market strategy throughout its global expansion.
As an essential business, Copart locations stayed open throughout the pandemic, and was able to continue selling cars on behalf of their customers to interested global buyers. This allowed their business to remain steady during the pandemic.
“As soon as the pandemic hit our country, we immediately administered thorough safety policies at our locations,” Macaluso explained. “Our incredible technology team also worked on inventing the Virtual Queue technology that was adopted in all our locations. This technology allows yard visitors to sign in online and wait for their turn to be served from the comfort of their cars.”
Copart takes pride in supporting its local communities in times of need. When the Calgary hailstorm hit in June of 2020 Copart Canada was quick to jump into action according to Macaluso. Causing over $1.2 billion in damages, the natural disaster was deemed as Canada’s fourth costliest catastrophe.
“It was incredible that, in a moment’s notice, employees flew in from all regions of Canada to support our Calgary team in managing and processing the thousands of vehicles consigned to Copart during the natural disaster,” said Macaluso. “By picking up affected vehicles on behalf of insurance companies, we are proud to have contributed toward helping the impacted communities focus on healing.”
Copart operates 7 physical locations across Canada, and the company is continuing to invest into their current facilities through land acquisitions and property enhancements.
“Our most important goal in 2021 is to continue to keep our customers and employees safe during the existing pandemic,” Macaluso said. “We will continue to grow our national footprint to support our national and regional automotive sellers.”
Keeping customers and employees safe is the top goal while the pandemic continues to be an everyday reality, but that doesn’t mean business growth has to be compromised altogether. In fact, according to Macaluso, Copart is launching several new technologies to boost customer experience.
“In 2021, we have several technology enhancements that we look forward to implementing to enhance our online auction experience,” said Steve Macaluso. “These enhancements include providing 360-degree footage of vehicles sold on Copart.ca and more.”
